1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation imaging control apparatus configured to reduce an operator's load for adjusting protocol information so as to be suitable for a patient for every imaging operation when performing a plurality of radiation imaging operations, and a method for controlling the radiation imaging control apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a digital X-ray system has become widespread, which irradiates a flat panel detector (FPD) with X rays from an X-ray generation apparatus, reads the X rays transmitted through a patient using the FPD, and transmits an image to an X-ray imaging control apparatus from the FPD to provide an X-ray imaging image to an operator.
In conventional techniques discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-200062, 2005-110844, and 2006-218142, an X-ray imaging control apparatus transmits protocol information including a radiation generation condition such as intensity of X rays irradiated from an X-ray generation apparatus and an irradiation time to an X-ray generation apparatus previous to an X-ray imaging operation, to arrange the protocol information between the X-ray generation apparatus and an FPD using the protocol information previously set in the X-ray imaging control apparatus.
An operator changes the protocol information in the X-ray generation apparatus, and the X-ray generation apparatus notifies the protocol information to the X-ray imaging control apparatus, which can change the protocol information between the X-ray generation apparatus and the FPD.
When the operator changes the protocol information, the operator finely adjusts the protocol information in consideration of the body type, imaging target region, and target region direction of an imaging patient subjected to the X-ray imaging operation, and performs the X-ray imaging operation using the protocol information suitable for the patient.
However, when the operator transmits the protocol information previously set in the X-ray imaging control apparatus for every X-ray imaging operation to the X-ray generation apparatus previous to the X-ray imaging operation as described above, a reset function acts in a general X-ray imaging apparatus, and a numerical value adjusted by the operator for a first imaging operation is reset for a second imaging operation. Therefore, even when the protocol information in the first imaging operation is the same as that in the second imaging operation, the operator is required to re-perform adjustment.